This invention relates to heat to electricity conversion for use on, but not limited to, a motorcycle, particularly a cruiser style street motorcycle.
Motorcycles produce an excess of waste heat which not only reduces efficiency but can cause discomfort for the rider. Current cooling systems move the heat away from the engine components, either utilizing open air systems or water cooling. Water cooling systems require energy to be diverted from the engine to power the system and are used on a minority of motorcycles. In practically all systems, while the motorcycle is not in motion, heat from the engine passes to the rider.
In current systems, none of the waste heat is converted into useful energy.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,097,752 to Wolf et al. discloses an internal combustion engine in which at least one thermionic converter is acted upon by the hot exhaust gases to generate electricity, which is used to power an electric motor.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,199,713 to Förster discloses an installation for supplying the electric power supply of motor vehicles that includes a generator, a battery as storage device or accumulator and several loads. A thermionic converter of conventional construction, which is operable with the fuel of the motor vehicle, is provided as generator. The electricity generated by the thermionic converter is used to power such ancillary devices as the ignition system, the injection installation, the starter, the light system, the ventilating system, the air conditioning system as well as under certain circumstances also auxiliary apparatus such as, for example, the radio, air-conditioning and the like. This arrangement generates electricity for these ancillary devices when the engine is not running, and also obviates the requirement for an alternator, with concomitant savings. This arrangement does not, however, provide enough electrical energy to propel the car via an electric motor.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,651,760 to Cox and Reave discloses a combustion chamber-thermionic device-electric motor combination. The combustion chamber provides a heat output which is transformed to electricity by the thermionic device and a motor converts the electrical energy to motive power for the wheels.
U.S. Patent Application No. 2004/0099304 to Cox discloses an improved electrical power unit for use in automobiles, on aircraft, or for local generation of electrical power. The electrical power unit comprises: a combustion chamber that burns fuel to produce heat energy; and a thermionic device that converts the heat energy into electrical energy. In another embodiment of the present invention, the electrical power unit additionally comprises an electric motor.
There are no current cooling systems for motorcycles that use any form of thermotunneling or thermionic device.